Great Britain hero Ben Davies happy at home with Cardiff Devils

There is no place like home.

Just seven years after leaving Cardiff Devils, the city's very own Ben Davies is back playing for his local team for a second time.

But how does a young boy from Splott go on to become the scorer of one of Great Britain's most famous ice hockey goals?

"When I was six years old my parents took me to a public skating session," said Davies.

"It was back in the old rink and I really enjoyed it, so they started taking me to skating lessons for the next six months or so.

"From there I transitioned into playing hockey in the junior system, and I worked my way up from under-10s, to under-12s and so on.

"When I was about 16 years old I was playing for a few different teams, trying to balance any spare time I had on the weekends.

"That year the Devils took on a few junior players to develop and I was one of those lucky enough."

After four years playing for the Devils' youth teams, the 2007-08 season saw a 16-year-old Davies feature for the senior team for the very first time.

He made 25 brief appearances, while adding a remarkable 38 goals and 35 assists in just 16 games for the team's under-18 side.

"There were some opportunities to come on to the bench as injury cover and experience the Devils organisation and just be in and around a professional team," added Davies.

"It was a pretty hectic time, but it was good fun, I was actually in my first year of my A levels too.

"I wasn't driving at the time, so after practice my parents would be outside the rink, I'd go straight from there to Bishop of Llandaff [high school] and complete whatever work I could.

"The school were really good to me, obviously knowing the situation I was in, they helped my study within any lessons so I could catch up on.

"And my parents really helped me out shuttling me around pretty much for the first year or so until I passed my driving test."

'I'll look back on it forever'

Ben Davies has scored four goals for Great Britain at World Championships

After stepping up to the senior team there was no looking back for Davies.

He spent a further six seasons with the Devils, totalling more than 250 games, and was rewarded with a call-up to the Great Britain squad for a 2013 Division 1A World Championship campaign.

It was a campaign to forget for the national team, as they suffered five defeats from five and were relegated to Division 1B for 2014.

But despite the results, Davies still looks back with fond memories.

"It was something I'll always look back on and be super proud of," he said.

"I've been lucky enough to go to a few World Championships now, and it's never something I'll take for granted.

"I still remember my first game and scoring my first goal."

For all his goals, for club and country, one will likely stand out in the memory of hockey fans across the country.

On 20 May, 2019 Great Britain faced France in the final game at the World Championship, the winner would secure their place in the top tier of the competition for another year.

Despite falling 3-0 behind early on, Great Britain fought back to 3-3 courtesy of goals from Robert Dowd, Mike Hammond and Robert Farmer to force overtime.

Just two minutes later, Jonathan Phillips broke clear and set up Davies to score the winner and spark wild celebrations on the ice in Kosice, Slovakia.

"That goal is something I'll always be able to look back on, I watch it back and it was awesome," said Davies.

"It was huge for us as a nation to prove we could be in that league and compete.

"It was bonkers after that goal, the celebration on the ice was immense.

"We went out afterwards and it's something everyone in that team will look back on forever."

Home sweet home

Ben Davies played 26 games for Melbourne Mustangs in the Australian Ice Hockey League in the 2017-18 season

After leaving the Devils in 2014, Davies initially took up residence in Scotland, and spent two seasons playing for Glasgow Clan - then known as Braehead Clan.

Following that he featured for Coventry Blaze and Guildford Flames, as well as brief spells playing in the United States and Australia.

But in July 2021, Davies returned home to Cardiff under new head coach Jarrod Skalde, who at the time described him as "one of those players guys hate playing against".

"It's been a long time coming, but I'm very happy to be back in Cardiff and it's great to put the jersey back on," said the Devils forward.

"When I was here last there was different ownership, a lot has changed.

"It's very professional, the way Cardiff and the fans here deserve, it's good to see.

"The standard has definitely improved, the style of hockey has improved as well.

"The reputation of the league and British hockey is being pushed forward, people are looking at ice hockey in Britain a lot differently to how they did five or 10 years ago."

This season has already had its fair share of ups and downs for the Devils.

December began with four defeats in five games, the one victory a narrow one away at Manchester Storm.

But since Christmas, the Devils have won nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Davies, who scored crucial goals against Blaze and Storm in recent weeks, believes momentum is with the team, as they look to put pressure on Elite League leaders Sheffield Steelers.

"We started the season quite well, and with the Champions Hockey League, a little bit earlier than other teams," said Davies.

"We did go through a patch where we were finding it hard to score, we dropped a few points here and there.

"But now I think we're about halfway through the season, there's still an awful lot of hockey to go, and we seem to be gelling well as a team.

"A few reinforcements have come in to help with injuries and different issues that have arisen, and we seem to be in a good place.

"I think we've just started to get the ball rolling, hopefully we can keep that going."

Cardiff Devils beat Dundee Stars at an empty Ice Arena Wales to reach the Challenge Cup semi-finals

Unfortunately for Devils fans, their recent good form has coincided with Welsh Government Covid-19 restrictions which have meant games played at an empty Ice Arena Wales.

The last five home games, including a 6-1 win against Dundee Stars in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, have been played without fans, but that run will soon come to an end.

From 28 January, Devils will welcome fans back, just in time for back-to-back home games against Fife Flyers and Nottingham Panthers.

"Sometimes it's been a bit challenging," said Davies.

"I think once you play in the game and you're really in focus, you kind of get locked into that.

"But the whole dynamic of not having fans in the rink changes the momentum swings, the fans can really get on our side and help us string the momentum of the game.

"Sometimes not having that at home has been difficult, but we seem to have responded well.

"It'll be a big relief to have them back at the end of the month.

"We're very much looking forward to it."